Can Maryland become the first state to take heart disease out of first place where it has been since the turn of the century?
Heart disease has been the number one health problem in the United States since the turn of the century. It kills more Americans each year than all the American soldiers killed in all of this country's previous wars. Does it have to continue? Can this be reversed with re-engineering of information presently available? The hypothesis postulated here is that if a strategy can be successfully carried out in one state, then other states may be able to follow and pursue other strategies attempting to do the same. To accomplish this on a statewide level it is necessary to have individual hospitals proactively involved with their communities by having a game plan for penetration, identification, activation, and early management of patients with ischemic heart disease. Florida, under the leadership of Henry McIntosh, M.D., has attempted to put this into effect with a complicated strategy. Maryland attempts to logically put into place a chest pain strategy utilizing the principle of keeping it simple for widespread utilization.
Bahr
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Paul Dudley White Coronary Care System, St. Agnes HealthCare, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002423:Cause of Death; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012040:Regional Health Planning